Should e-bikes be allowed on Toronto bike trails?

As of about a week ago, signage along the Martin Goodman trail has been put in place to reinforce a ban on the use of e-bikes on the busy waterfront bike and pedestrian path. According to the current wording of the Toronto bylaw related to bike paths, only those pedaling with human power are legally authorized to use these off-road trails. As per a recent Toronto Star article, Transportation Services staff are currently discussing how they might rework the bylaw to make it more "nuanced," but in the meantime e-bikes will have to stay off the trails.

For whatever reason, these electric powered bikes — the speed of which is capped at 32 km/h — always seem to spark heated debate. Some argue that they're more dangerous than a human powered bike because they're generally heavier and get up to speed quicker. Others claim that because of their limited maximum speed they're no more dangerous than any other bike out there. And that's not to mention the whole other set of arguments that arise when discussing the use of e-bikes on the road.

So, what better subject for a poll? Feel free to chime in with comments, too.

Photo by MSVG in the blogTO Flickr pool